Former Effort woman found murdered in Florida

A 35-year-old woman who moved to Port Richey, Fla., from the Poconos 15 years ago was found brutally murdered inside her home over the weekend.

JOHN MISINCO

A 35-year-old woman who moved to Port Richey, Fla., from the Poconos 15 years ago was found brutally murdered inside her home over the weekend.

Kelly Mercedes Bennett, formerly of Effort, was found, in a pool of blood, by her teenage son at about 1 a.m. Saturday, according to a report by The Tampa Tribune.

The Pasco County Sheriff's Office told the paper that a 40-year-old handyman who had been living at the house for the past three weeks has been charged with murder.

Officials did not provide details on how Bennett was killed, only saying she died from blunt force trauma, the report said. An arrest report obtained by the paper alleged that the handyman, Steven R. Clairmont Jr., was spotted covered in blood less than a mile from Bennett's home about a half-hour before her body was found.

Bennett was originally from Staten Island, N.Y., but grew up in the Poconos, according to her obituary.

She is survived by her son, Timothy Bennett; her mother, Ellen Bennett; sisters, Kimberly B. Whittle and Christie Nunan; and brothers, Joseph Glaser and Timothy O'Callaghan.

Services will be held at 9 a.m. Thursday at St. James the Apostle Catholic Church in Port Richey, with visiting hours between 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Faupel Funeral Home, Port Richey.